My Fictional Life Blog

Archives 2006

Elsa Neal

My latest articles:

Writing Fantasy

Writing a synopsis

Guidelines on story length

My latest reviews:

His Dark Materials (2&3) by Philip Pullman by Philip Pullman

The StarThorn Tree by Kate Forsyth

The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

Wednesday 25 October 2006
Adapting books into film

I think a lot of writers battle to understand that film and print are two completely different media. They work differently, they have different nuances, dynamics, and rules, and while there are some writers who are able to switch from one to the other, I would say most writers are better off specialising in one or the other.

However, it is well worth understanding both as art forms, and if a novelist is ever in the excellent position of seeing their work transformed into film, I think it makes it easier on everyone if they look at it as an entirely new item. "Interpretation" doesn't quite cover it - it's almost a case of all the elements of the story are dissolved and reformed by other people's brains. To me that's a very exciting concept.

What I'm reading: Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov

What I'm listening to: Bjork

Post a comment

Tuesday 26 September 2006
Point of view switches and some other little gripes

Handling point of view is often an element that writers battle with, even well into their careers. I pick up books all the time by well-known authors and cringe at their viewpoint switches mid-scene. Point of view seems to be less important to agents and publishers than it used to. But I really believe writers should understand and master it for the sake of their readers. And I’m not talking about omniscient POV here, used with skill for a reason – I mean silly little errors that I know would make me blush if someone found them in my work. 

Crime writer, Minette Walters, is a prime example. A book like The Scold’s Bridle has a very intriguing plot – but it takes several pages before the reader realises which character is the main protagonist. And it’s not the first person we’re introduced to. Neither is it the person from whose viewpoint the opening scenes in the book are presented. That person simply finishes their job and never appears in the book again. What a waste. Walters loses valuable empathy time with her readers. 

And in addition to switching viewpoints mid-scene, Walters has the strange habit of giving her characters bizarre dialogue that no normal human being would ever utter. In The Scold’s Bridle her characters spout trite proverbs like “In for a penny, in for a pound”. In The Ice House, an ordinary policeman not only knows exactly which obscure old English poem a wealthy widow is quoting from, he is able to finish the quote from memory himself. 

When last have you managed to memorise a poem? Could you really still quote it word perfect if someone suddenly tried to catch you off guard with it? Or would you fluff it, like 99% of everyone else? 


What I'm reading: Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

What I'm listening to: Powderfinger

Post a comment

Wednesday 23 August 2006
Manuscript Assessment Services

I met a literary agent some time back (and I'll write more about this agent in a future entry) who suggested that I have my manuscript assessed before submitting it to publishers and agents. Sounds like a reasonable idea, doesn't it?

I did some web surfing following that chat, and over and over I kept coming across manuscript assessment service recommendations on literary agents' websites. But I noticed something that didn't sit right with me - when I clicked over to the websites of those services recommended by agents, the name of the assessing "editor" was often the same name as the recommending agent. 

So are these agents moaning about the lack of time they have to read through their slush piles due to how busy they are acting as an agent for their clients and networking with publishers, or because they're spending hours reading and critiquing manuscripts for more money than they would be able to get as an advance for those poor writers' books?

Would you sign with an agent who had such conflicting priorities?


What I'm reading: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

What I'm listening to: Brad Mehldau

Post a comment

Comments (1)

Todd - No I would not sign with this kind of agent.
Posted 28 August 2006

Tuesday 15 August 2006
Fiction Writing at BellaOnline

I've been appointed the Fiction Writing editor at BellaOnline. I'm very excited even if it does mean an increase in my work load, what with the time I already spend on the Creativity site. I'm aiming to keep both sites.  


What I'm reading: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

What I'm listening to: U2

Post a comment

Wednesday 12 July 2006
Craic

I was nineteen when I made a trip to Dublin for a long weekend, alone because my travel companion pulled out at the last minute. I took myself out to dinner at the exclusive Chapter One restaurant which is tucked beneath the Dublin Writers Museum. The waiters didn’t know what to do with me – no one dines alone in Dublin. They hovered, but tried not to look at me too often. 

Afterwards, I made my way through the city, hoping to find an Irish pub where I could drink Guinness and hopefully be treated to a spontaneous outburst of the genuine Irish storytelling, singing, and music-making I’d heard so much about. Craic. 

The pub I chose was a quiet one and I sat down and had my first ever taste of Guinness (I’d missed the brewery tour by just a few minutes). It wasn’t long before an attractive woman got up and came to sit next to me. As soon as she’d established that I was only alone because of travel mix-ups rather than in dire need of consoling, she called her partner and friend over. 

Now this woman happened to be Scottish, and the two Irishmen she was with were very shy, but that doesn’t really alter the story in any significant way. The point is that you can meet interesting people anywhere, and conformity is the last thing interesting people rely on. 

I think her name was Susan, but I might be confusing her with another Susan all these years on. Susan’s idea of striking up an enjoyable conversation was not to ask who you are, what you do, or where you come from, but “What is the best thing you’ve seen?”

Hers was an eagle that she caught off guard on a hiking trip. It was distracted by something else and didn’t sense her approach until the same moment that she noticed it. Human and eagle both froze and looked at each other for what must have seemed eternity, before the eagle flew off. 

I’ll never forget this strange, lovely woman with her confidence that a conversation with a stranger could be interesting and memorable. I don't use people I know in my books. But I do sometimes use themes, qualities, attitudes that come from something I've experienced. There’s often a character in my books who embodies the principles this woman taught me in one short hour in a pub in Ireland. One character who looks down on the others with amusement and wisdom, raises a pertinent question, sees through the façade. 

The best thing I’ve seen? I’m still looking. Wide eyed and open minded. 


What I'm reading: Permutation City by Greg Egan

What I'm listening to: Linkin Park

Post a comment

Tuesday 27 June 2006
Unpronounceable character names

You may already have read my review of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight and Dragonquest. I made a brief comment about the names she’s chosen to give her characters – the fantasy standard of inventing exotic-sounding names that don’t exist here on Earth. 

I have to confess now that I did this too, in my misguided youth. Luckily nothing remains of the horrible apostrophised and consonant-filled names that I came up with. Reading McCaffrey’s works brought this all back to me, and reminded me also of all the amateur stories I’ve looked at on the Internet where I don’t get past the first paragraph after gagging over the ridiculous names. 

I both do, and don’t, understand this concept. (This is a typical Pisces statement, by the way – get used to me swimming in both directions at once.) Having created names of this type when I was a teenager, I know the allure of exoticism. You don’t want your fantasy and science fiction characters to sound like they come from (then) twentieth century Earth. 

What I don’t understand is how experienced writers like McCaffrey can’t see how embarrassingly teenage the practice is. Read the amateur stories online – you’ll cringe, and you’ll never want to throw a bunch of consonants together again. 

Another point I don’t follow about McCaffrey’s Pern series (perhaps it is clarified in later books, but it’s unlikely I’ll get around to reading them) is that her characters are descendents of Earth colonists. How is it possible that there is not a single normal Earth name left, passed down over the generations? How did every person on Pern end up with weird, unpronounceable names? It’s statistically bizarre. 

The other problems with creating exotic names for characters is the lack of understanding you put between your work and your readers. For god’s sake make life easy for your reader! It’s hard enough to get published as it is. When a reader is confronted with a bunch of consonants and apostrophes they have no idea, in the first place, what gender to imagine for this character. A writer runs a real risk by giving a character an opposite gender name, too. Women with men’s names are more common than the other way around. McCaffrey has named a male dragon “Ruth” in The White Dragon. It jars, and jarring your reader weakens the magical hold your story has over them. 

Secondly, your readers have to wonder whether the character is human if the name doesn’t register as human-like. Fine, if you immediately describe the character so that the reader can reconcile and imagine the character. These two issues, gender and species, are vital – if you block a reader’s ability to visualise, your character will remain flat and two dimensional. The reader is unable to identify with them, will not care what happens to them, and very possibly will close the book and pick up something they can identify with. 

Thirdly, a reader has to deal with the frustration of coming up with a pronunciation for the name. And here, nine times out of ten, the reader will simply give up and make up their own pronunciation (or close the book, as I mentioned previously). Personally, doing this makes me feel dyslexic – my mind is saying something that is not printed in the book. I don’t think that’s healthy, actually. I even struggle with a relatively simple (compared to the others in the Pern books) name, like “Menolly”. My brain insists this is “Melanie”. Don’t get me started on names like “T’bor” (Teebor). 

I think the occasional exotic name is fine – to differentiate a minor character from others perhaps. Writing an entire book filled with exotic names is a different matter. It’s just plain irritating.
 

What I'm reading: Heads by Greg Bear and The Inspired Heart by Jerry Wennstromm

What I'm listening to: Bjork

Post a comment

Comments (2)

Lai - I think you should realize that anne mccaffery mentions why she shortens names in about ten of her books.
Posted 30 September 2006

Elsa Neal - McCaffrey apostrophises the names as an honorific for the male dragonriders only - yes, I know that. It doesn't change the fact that the names are annoying to read and pronounce. Nor does it paint Pern as a very fair society. Perhaps that is McCaffrey's point - but as I said in my review, she doesn't seem to want to take this issue very far in any one book.
Posted 1 October 2006

Friday 16 June 2006
Fantasy maps

Last week I started creating a map for my children’s fantasy book, as well as the blueprint for the castle. I found I was spending too much time trying to work out which direction or area some action was taking place in, and then going back through my notes to see if I was contradicting a previous description. 

Both need work, but the map has already helped to cement the details of the book’s world in my mind. I was actually stuck at one point because I couldn’t work out whether somebody came from the north or the south of the country – with the map, I worked out all those details and found some more information that will probably come up later on. 

But this all led me to ponder the concept of the maps that are inevitably included in fantasy books. I have a love-hate relationship with them. I enjoy looking at the maps and seeing where the action is happening. 

Once or twice, though, I’ve not noticed there is a map available and when I’ve found it afterwards, or half-way through the book, I realise how completely unnecessary it’s been. The author’s description has been skilful enough to guide me through their world, I haven’t become lost or confused to any extent that my imagination can’t fill in the blanks for me. 

On other occasions, however, I’ve started the book by studying the map, then reading through and coming to a description of a journey. I start imagining the direction the characters are taking and from which angle they approach landmarks such as rivers or castles. And then I make the mistake – usually when a place name is mentioned – of flipping to the map to check where I am. And then I realise my imagination has placed the characters at completely the wrong location and direction. Is this my fault, or is it the fault of the author whose description was not adequate enough to keep me from imagining the wrong directions? I was perfectly happy for the characters to be travelling in the direction they were until I looked at the map and became disoriented. Now this realisation breaks the flow and imagination of the story. At every step I find I have to check the map to make sure I have the characters travelling in the right direction. Eventually I make myself stop and just concentrate on the story. So what if I have them ending up on the opposite continent to where the author intends them to be? In my mind they’re in the right place. 

So I’m not sure about maps. The one I’ve created for my book is useful for me, because I don’t want to contradict myself and land my characters in the middle of the ocean by accident. But I have to think carefully about whether I want to include a map in the final copy of the book. In one way I think it will be a nice addition. But on the other hand I would hope that my skills of description are adequate enough to help the reader imagine for themselves where the characters are going. After all, that’s what fiction is about – the joining of the author and reader’s imaginations. The more trust a writer places in the reader’s imagination, the more personal the reader can make the book, and the more they can identify with the story and find themselves lost in a good book. 

What I'm reading: The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov and The Inspired Heart by Jerry Wennstrom

What I'm listening to: Linkin Park

Post a comment

Thursday 8 June 2006
Good luck Sophie, darling!

Best and warmest of wishes to our little Sophie Delezio who's on her way home from hospital today after 5 weeks in recovery. Sophie was hit by a car when crossing at a pedestrian crossing.

When this happened last month, all of Australia said, "Not again!"

This is the same little girl who was badly burnt and lost both feet 3 years ago when a car crashed into her day care centre.

But she's got the most beautiful spirit and sweet nature and all of Australia loves her and wishes her well. She's just five years old.

Good luck little sweetheart. I hope you only ever make the news again for good reasons!

What I'm reading: I'm still on Dragonquest by Anne McCaffery

What I'm listening to: Alanis Morissette

Post a comment

Wednesday 7 June 2006
Chocolate

Last night I ate (only three little blocks) of Nestle Club gorgeous dark chocolate with a hazelnut praline centre. Mmmm, heaven! Only... dark chocolate keeps me awake. And I knew that, I just couldn't resist. But it's not bad insomnia - I lay awake "writing" a significant portion of the chapter I had been working on during the day, in my head. So today I just have to sit still long enough to get that all down on screen.

So maybe chocolate inspires me. I'm not sure I can afford continuous sleepless nights though.

What I'm reading: I'm still on Dragonquest by Anne McCaffery

What I'm listening to: Moby

Post a comment

Thursday 1 June 2006
Work in Progress update

I'm currently working on Book 1 of a trilogy. It started out as a single book with a single story. I wrote quite an extensive synopsis/outline for myself so that I wouldn't forget the story (at that stage I was considering putting the idea aside as a later project). As I worked out the plot elements, and then sub-plot elements, the story grew and developed in that magical way that authors feel is like a drug. 

When I finished developing the story, I realised there was a sequel, and then logically a third part to the story. I was amazed and delighted, but at that stage I didn't know what these next stories were going to be. Those both started off with just a sentence. Then Book 2 began to develop a storyline because a character's personality began to develop and indicated where a particular story strand would go, and I wrote a synopsis for that one. In the meantime I decided this trilogy was important enough that I should set aside the other novel I'd started and work on this instead.

I'm now nearly half way through the first book in the trilogy. I thought I had a good synopsis for Book 2, although it is missing a chunk in the middle where I'm not quite sure what happens just yet. Book 3 has also started developing sparked by something I wrote not long ago as part of Book 1, when I realised that this part of the plot is only going to play itself out in the third book. I now also have a good synopsis for Book 3, but this outline is missing large chunks in a few places. That doesn't worry me in the slightest - this will all fall into place eventually, as it has before in my other novels.

Then just recently, what I originally thought would be nothing more than an epilogue to the third book, has started pushing itself forward as a "Book 4". I wasn't entirely happy with that idea, because the fourth part jumps in time and therefore doesn't fit in with the trilogy where the three stories occur within a few months. 

Until I had an epiphany... the reason why there's a hole in Book 2 is so that I can fit half of Book 3 in there. It makes much more sense for a certain section of what was originally Book 3's story to be in Book 2 - it makes my life a lot easier (I was going to have to come up with a reason for the characters delaying an action inevitable from Book 1, just so that I could have it happen in Book 3). And I can now have Book 4's story fitting neatly into Book 3. 

So I still have my trilogy. What is it with things that come in threes?

What I'm reading: Dragonquest by Anne McCaffery

What I'm listening to: Eminem

Post a comment

Monday 22 May 2006
EuroVision Finnished!

I was beginning to think I was getting old. It seems so often that my taste is completely out of sync with everyone else. I don't like very much of the music that's topping the charts at the moment... (you call that music! In my day...).   

Anyway. I hate to admit I was watching EuroVision, but I was. You know I'm not into pop music (you do know that, don't you?), but EV is just so tongue in cheek. I love people who don't take themselves seriously, almost as much as I love watching people who do take themselves seriously. 

The moment I saw Finland's Lordi entry I was desperate for them to win. Would Europe really get over the pretty little things and hunky darlings and choose a band that dared to be utterly different? Yes! I'm over the moon! I have finally been validated! The whole of Europe, for once, has the same taste as me.

What I'm reading: Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

What I'm listening to: Rammstein

Post a comment

Wednesday 17 May 2006
Robin Hobb

I've just finished reading one of the best trilogies I've come across in a long time: Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy. It's not very often a book makes me cry anymore, but for some bizarre reason I cried because I finished this book and couldn't read it anymore! 

I would say the third book in the Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Quest) is the best one in the trilogy. It's so beautiful. A lot that was irritating me in the other books comes together in this one and makes far more sense.

I've got a review of all three Farseer books here.  

What I'm reading: Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb  

What I'm listening to: Alannis Morrissette 

Post a comment

Friday 5 May 2006
Catching up

Okay. Now that I'm back from my holiday (mmm, that was a month ago!) I'm finally starting to catch up on all the bits and pieces that I need to tweak, including this page. 

First of all, you've probably noticed that the meter on Novel 2 has been stagnant for a while. That's not because I haven't been doing any work. Sometime last year I got a little stuck with that novel, and instead of working it out my usual way (wait it out), I turned to a project that was threatening to mug me if I didn't pay attention to its needs. 

This "new" project is a children's fantasy book. I know - me? But, this is what I have been working on for the past few months, and as you can see by the word meter, I'm flying through it. I haven't had so much fun in ages. 

I'll get back to Novel #2, don't you worry. It's calling me still too. It's just that, at the moment, this delightful little children's story is more important to me. 

What I'm reading: Zodiac by Neal Stephenson

What I'm listening to: Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Post a comment

Monday 6 February 2006
Frey'd Edges

It should've been obvious to Oprah (and Frey's publishers and editor) that they were reading fiction when A Million Little Pieces failed to send them to sleep. Real life is always more boring than fiction.

Post a comment

Comments

Archives 2007

Articles

Reviews

Would you like a fresh set of eyes to read through your manuscript?

October
Adapting books into film

September
Point of view switches and some other little gripes

August
Manuscript Assessment Services

Fiction Writing at BellaOnline

July
Craic

June
Unpronounceable character names

Fantasy maps

Good luck Sophie, darling!

Chocolate

Work in Progress update

May
EuroVision Finnished!

Robin Hobb

Catching up

February
Frey'd Edges

2005

2007